Odd Future get a lot of press for their energy and punk rock like shows. Tyler, The Creator and Hodgy Beats are nothing if not pure aggression and fuck-off attitude. And then there's Mike G. The 20 year old rapper provides the cool and mellow yin to other members' chaotic yang, flowing smoothly like he's been living in Houston for the last decade (he lives in LA). Check out the Left Brain produced "Forest Green" below and look for Mike G to drop his new album, "Gold," sometime in the fall.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice! Japan's Peelander Z have been added to the Free Press Summer Fest lineup. And just in time to. I have a feeling that there may be some giant paper mache squid monsters that need vanquishing, and these are the only people on earth capable of handling such a feat.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Where would we as a society be if not for one Larry Cohen? The schlock director has given us such gems as "It's Alive," about a bloodthirsty newborn baby, "The Stuff," a film about a mind-controlling yogurt-like substance, and "Q: The Winged Serpent," about a dragon attacking New York City. Having recently watched his 1976 masterpiece, "God Told Me To," i'm pretty convinced that Mr. Cohen is smoking something that we all desperately need to be on. What starts as a movie about a religious serial killer morphs into a film about the possible return of Christ and his battle with the Antichrist, and then, like a revelation, comes...wait for it...wait for it...a space vagina! (Take that space baby from 2001: A Space Odyssey.)

So, do yourselves a favor and watch this film. Really. A space vagina.

Years and years ago (2001 to be exact), a bunch of crazy Australian DJ's go together to create a crazy album of hundreds of uncleared samples. Thus was born The Avalanches' "Since I Left You." It reigns as one of the hippest records from that decade. Now, the word on the street is that the group have completed their sophomore effort, and that it should be out sometime in 2012 from Modular Records. And you know what they say about the word on the street? Believe it.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Good old Cameron Stallones, aka Sun Araw. He must know i really dig his droney, tripped-out, psychedelic wonder tunes. Why else would he put out a million releases every year? Anyway, the newest effort, the double LP "Ancient Romans," comes out via his own Sun Ark record label in August. Let the drugs wash over me like a millions suns...

"Heartfelt and marbled, this album is documentation of the slow exit (the triumphal entry): moving the camera back 8 stages along the circumference of the circle to the point where the obverse is reverse, in order to celebrate the building of an edifice and then walk away from it in wisdom, gaining freedom from it."

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Alvarius B (or Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls) released "Baroque Primitiva" earlier this year, and the vinyl sold out in like 5 seconds or something (there were only 300 pressed). Fortunately for all of us, it's now available in CD format (hopefully for longer than 5 seconds). The album consists mainly of trippy, haunting acoustic covers of several Ennio Morricone songs, The Beach Boys, and John Barry, although Alvarius does throw in a couple of originals too. Listen to a few tracks below.

City Limits in a new label created by a couple of bloggers (Ears of the Beholder and See the Leaves). Their goal is to release compilations highlighting local music scenes, kicking it off with San Francisco and featuring Young Prisms, Fiveng, Maus Haus, The Sandwitches and more. Pre-order the record here. While you're there, download the aforementioned Sandwitches tune for freezies.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Ah, Hammer Films. I watched "Vampire Circus," last night, and true to form like most films produced by Hammer, it's pretty well put together. A nice little horror flick. Also, like most of the offerings from Hammer, the movie poster steals the show.

RVNG INTL is set to release a new LP in their FRKWYS series, this one featuring a capella artist extraordinaire Julianna Barwick and NYC No Wave artist Ikue Mori. Experimental improvisations, but it's pretty. Buy it here. Check out "Rejoinder" below.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Jesu (or Justin Broadrick of Napalm Death) is back for only his third LP under the Jesu moniker. (Although there are dozens on EP's, singles, and splits.) Beautiful, droney, textured heavy metal that owes just as much to the sad, acoustic work Mark Kozelek and Red House Painters as it does heavy metal. Loud, heavy music for the shoegaze set. The CD is available for purchase now. No word yet as to when the vinyl will be released.

Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade is set to roll out his newest project that isn't Sunset Rubdown or Swan Lake in August. Enter Moonface - Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped. Dig the title. Dig the swirly, organ psychedelic-laced jams. Thanks to Jagjaguwar as usual. Listen to "Fast Peter" below. Hooray!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The official lineup for the Austin City Limits festival came out today, and as usual, people are losing their shit. There's the usual amount of nay saying that comes out every year, complaining about how crappy the lineup is. But really, ACL is a little different than the normal hipster paradise that comes with other music festivals. We also have a bunch of old hippie bullshit, and the usual amount of KGSR type standards (if you live in central Texas, you know what that means). So as bad as the list can look, there's always going to be a few things everyday worth checking out.

Now, this year, we're getting a little something different with people thinking this is the greatest lineup of all time. Hence, the inflated 3-day pass prices online. I'm going to have to give an emphatic "NO" to that one. While Stevie Wonder is certain to be a great time, it's not like Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, Coldplay (BLEH!), and others haven't been here before. And really, is Kanye really that big of a score? He is a gay fish after all.

Headliners aside, i am looking forward to James Blake, Alexander, Santigold, and Death From Above 1979 (back for more, eh?), and there's always beer. So, ACL 2011, you definitely could have done better, but in all honesty, i've seen worse, so i'll be there, drinking and sweating with all the rest of the gay fish.

So, here's a new record called "Now I A Become" from TONSTARTSSBANDHT, better known as the band i don't know how to say and hate to type out. Anyway, aside from being total assholes for the name of their band, the White brothers actually create some pretty interesting stuff...kinda Animal Collective, kinda not. Anyway, it's good. You can get the album at Arbutus Records, and listen to "Shot to La Parc," and "Orange Miss You" below.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Bon Iver's got a new LP due out in June from Jagjaguwar. Listen to the tune "Calgary" below, and head over to the band's website to download the song for free (it will cost you an email though...that's how they get you).

Friday, May 13, 2011

Up for some moody post-punk jammy-jams? Do you hate tooth decay just as much as Mr. Mackey? Cool. Then check out the dentistry video for Snowman's "White Wall" below. Straight outta Australia, yo. Hazaa!

Austin's Pure X (or Pure Ecstasy as earlier releases would leave me to believe) have a new EP out on Acephale Records. They create hazy, woozy ballads with a folky, country twinge that fill the room like a slow swirling smoke machine. Excellent jams to get high and fall asleep to. So, sit back, listen to the rolling thunder storm outside your window, and sink into your chair. "You're In It Now."

Ah, Black Devil Disco Club... From the mysteries surrounding the initial inception, to the rumors that it's actually Aphex Twin pulling all the strings, to it's Georgio Moroder meets Joy Division vibe (not my assertion, but quite a pro po nonetheless), you just gotta love this old school futuristic techno boogie. The new record, "Circus," shakes it up a little more than past outings by introducing a slew of guest vocalists. Everyone from Jon Spencer to Afrika Bambaataa to Yacht to Nancy Sinatra takes a track. It's pretty damn fun. Check out Nancy's contribution, "To Ardent," below and groove with me for a sec.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I'm going to be honest and say that when Marvel first announced it's future movie plans, releasing features leading up to Avengers at the end of Iron Man, Thor was probably the film i was least anticipating. I've been a comic nerd for a long time, and for me it was always Spiderman, Hulk, X-Men, or Batman. I always kind of sided with Brad from "Adventures in Babysitting," and agreed that Thor was a homo.

That being said, throw in some Oscar winners, and Shakespearean director, and some pretty groovy-effects, i guess i'm down with some Thor, even if it is just another segue to next summer's blockbuster. So, i'm sold now Marvel. I'll take back what i said about Thor.

This just made me laugh. Keeping in the tradition of fucked up versions of bland pop/rock songs, the good people at Olde English Spelling Bee have gifted us all a Creed tribute album. Is it necessary? No. Will you ever listen to these songs again? Probably not. But, they're all infinitely more listenable than the original schlock. Download as a zip file here. So, enjoy some bizarro covers of Florida's finest...or you can just listen to Scott Stapp's "Marlins Will Soar" song over and over again. It is baseball season after all.

Ryan Rousseau, aka Ryan Wong of The Wongs, The Reatards, etc. has unleashed a droney, psychedelic space opera upon the masses of the universe. This is really drug-fueled, cosmic, stellar-overdrive type stuff, and to answer the question looming on everyone's frontal lobe, it's freaking awesome. Get it from Volar Records and sample the whole damn thing below. Try not to grind your teeth too much.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

London producer Zomby recently signed with 4AD and is set to release "Dedication" in July. In the meantime, there is a 10" single in the works and listen to the track "Things Fall Apart" below. It features Panda Bear on vocals.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Here's a weird little video from Salem. First up is some grainy footage of some strippers and then a bunch of night vision war footage. Awesome? I don't know. Maybe. Any rate, the song's pretty cool, and i love Salem, so watch it below.